diff --git a/docs/running.md b/docs/running.md
index 271a690afa..12ae611c51 100644
--- a/docs/running.md
+++ b/docs/running.md
@@ -51,7 +51,16 @@ More information about using the `--scalafix-migrations` and `--artifact-migrati
 The workspace directory (specified with `--workspace`) provides a location for cache and temporary files.  
 
 It is important to persist this workspace between runs.  Without this, Scala Steward will be unable to observe 
-repo-specific preferences (such as [pullRequests.frequency](repo-specific-configuration.md)) correctly.   
+repo-specific preferences (such as [pullRequests.frequency](repo-specific-configuration.md)) correctly.
+
+Furthermore, `git` requires the workspace directory to be owned by the same user that will run Scala Steward.
+If there is an ownership mismatch, `git` may print error messages like
+
+> fatal: detected dubious ownership in repository …
+
+or
+
+> fatal: not in a git directory
 
 ### Private repositories
 
@@ -203,7 +212,6 @@ pipelines:
 There is multiple articles on how to run Scala Steward on-premise:
 
 * [Running Scala Steward On-premise](https://engineering.avast.io/running-scala-steward-on-premise)
-* [Running scala-steward periodically on AWS Fargate](https://medium.com/@tanishiking/running-scala-steward-periodically-on-aws-fargate-3d3d202f0f7)
 * [Scala StewardとGitHub Actionsで依存ライブラリの更新を自動化する](https://scalapedia.com/articles/145/Scala+Steward%E3%81%A8GitHub+Actions%E3%81%A7%E4%BE%9D%E5%AD%98%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%83%AA%E3%81%AE%E6%9B%B4%E6%96%B0%E3%82%92%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E5%8C%96%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B)
 * [Centralized Scala Steward with GitHub Actions](https://hector.dev/2020/11/18/centralized-scala-steward-with-github-actions)
 * [Big Timesavers for Busy Scala Developers](https://speakerdeck.com/exoego/big-timesavers-for-busy-scala-developers)
diff --git a/modules/core/src/main/scala/org/scalasteward/core/git/FileGitAlg.scala b/modules/core/src/main/scala/org/scalasteward/core/git/FileGitAlg.scala
index a82182024a..49138b8001 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/main/scala/org/scalasteward/core/git/FileGitAlg.scala
+++ b/modules/core/src/main/scala/org/scalasteward/core/git/FileGitAlg.scala
@@ -151,7 +151,18 @@ final class FileGitAlg[F[_]](config: GitCfg)(implicit
       slurpOptions: SlurpOptions = Set.empty
   ): F[List[String]] = {
     val extraEnv = List("GIT_ASKPASS" -> config.gitAskPass.pathAsString)
-    processAlg.exec(gitCmd ++ args.toList, repo, extraEnv, slurpOptions)
+    processAlg
+      .exec(gitCmd ++ args.toList, repo, extraEnv, slurpOptions)
+      .recoverWith {
+        case ex: ProcessFailedException
+            if ex.getMessage.contains("fatal: not in a git directory") =>
+          // `git status` prints a more informative error message than some other git commands, like `git config`
+          // this will hopefully print that error message to the logs in addition to the actual failure
+          processAlg
+            .exec(Nel.of("git", "status"), repo, List.empty, slurpOptions)
+            .attempt
+            .void >> ex.raiseError
+      }
   }
 
   private def git_(args: String*)(repo: File): F[List[String]] =
diff --git a/modules/docs/mdoc/running.md b/modules/docs/mdoc/running.md
index 1dc074b342..51af5e88bf 100644
--- a/modules/docs/mdoc/running.md
+++ b/modules/docs/mdoc/running.md
@@ -51,7 +51,16 @@ More information about using the `--scalafix-migrations` and `--artifact-migrati
 The workspace directory (specified with `--workspace`) provides a location for cache and temporary files.  
 
 It is important to persist this workspace between runs.  Without this, Scala Steward will be unable to observe 
-repo-specific preferences (such as [pullRequests.frequency](repo-specific-configuration.md)) correctly.   
+repo-specific preferences (such as [pullRequests.frequency](repo-specific-configuration.md)) correctly.
+
+Furthermore, `git` requires the workspace directory to be owned by the same user that will run Scala Steward.
+If there is an ownership mismatch, `git` may print error messages like
+
+> fatal: detected dubious ownership in repository …
+
+or
+
+> fatal: not in a git directory
 
 ### Private repositories
 
@@ -203,7 +212,6 @@ pipelines:
 There is multiple articles on how to run Scala Steward on-premise:
 
 * [Running Scala Steward On-premise](https://engineering.avast.io/running-scala-steward-on-premise)
-* [Running scala-steward periodically on AWS Fargate](https://medium.com/@tanishiking/running-scala-steward-periodically-on-aws-fargate-3d3d202f0f7)
 * [Scala StewardとGitHub Actionsで依存ライブラリの更新を自動化する](https://scalapedia.com/articles/145/Scala+Steward%E3%81%A8GitHub+Actions%E3%81%A7%E4%BE%9D%E5%AD%98%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%83%AA%E3%81%AE%E6%9B%B4%E6%96%B0%E3%82%92%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E5%8C%96%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B)
 * [Centralized Scala Steward with GitHub Actions](https://hector.dev/2020/11/18/centralized-scala-steward-with-github-actions)
 * [Big Timesavers for Busy Scala Developers](https://speakerdeck.com/exoego/big-timesavers-for-busy-scala-developers)